The company’s known use of carcinogenic substances in its boilers and other products has led to a number of successful lawsuits for former employees and families who have become ill and died because of the company’s neglect to inform workers of the risks associated with their boilers. 1
Harmful Products and Health Consequences
In his law book titled, Expert Witnessing and Scientific Testimony: Surviving in the Courtroom, author Kenneth Cohen discussed that Cleaver-Brooks was aware that its boilers contained asbestos and therefore knowingly exposed workers to danger. According to Cohen’s research, employees who worked in the boilers were exposed to asbestos-laden millboard, gaskets, cement, and refractory materials. These products, which were found to contain up to 95 percent asbestos fiber, caused boiler workers to inhale carcinogenic dust without being aware of the risks of doing so.2
These products, which were found to contain up to 95 percent asbestos fiber, caused boiler workers to inhale carcinogenic dust without being aware of the risks of doing so.2
Lawsuits
In 2013, PaintSquare News reported that a New York jury ordered Cleaver-Brooks and another company to pay nearly $2million to five former workers who became ill with mesothelioma after working with asbestosis-inducing products made by the companies. By the time the verdict was reached, three of the men had already died from the cancer.3
In 2014, the Washington Examiner reported that a $980,000 verdict against Cleaver-Brooks was affirmed by an appeals court regarding a New York lawsuit filed by the wife of a deceased boiler worker who died from asbestosis. The New York court determined that Cleaver-Brooks was 60 percent liable in the case, in which the plaintiff’s husband was exposed to asbestos through his work with boilers at an air force base. The military cannot be held liable, but the court found Cleaver-Brooks partially liable for making the boilers that led to the man’s disease and ultimately his death.4
In 2018, the Madison St. Clair Record reported that a man who was diagnosed with cancer in November 2017 filed a lawsuit against Cleaver and other companies in the St. Clair County Circuit Court. The man alleges that during his employment between 1966-2015, he was exposed to asbestos fibers that caused his illness. These products, the lawsuit alleges, were dangerous but still used by the companies even though Cleaver-Brooks and others were aware of the hazards and other materials could have been used instead to protect the health of employees. The man and his wife are seeking $50,000 in punitive damages.5
The Future of Cleaver Brooks
New lawsuits continue to be filed against Cleaver Brooks. These lawsuits probably will continue to be filed for decades because mesothelioma is often diagnosed 20-40 or more years after toxic exposure has occurred. People who have long since retired from their jobs can develop disease decades later if their jobs involved inhaling carcinogenic dust or fibers, which lodge themselves in the lung lining and slowly do damage over time. Since workers were not warned of the risks, they had no way to protect themselves from disease so many years ago, and many pay the ultimate price with their lives.
Rae Steinbach
Lauren Weinand